Roundup: USC, Wazzu meet in Troy looking for first Pac-12 wins of 2018
The Pac-12 weekend kicks off Friday night in SoCal with USC greeting Washington State (7:30 p.m. PT, ESPN) and hoping to get some revenge on the Cougs after losing a tight Friday nighter in the Palouse last season. Joey Kaufman gives us a USC-Washington State scouting report in the link, predicting a 31-25 win for the Trojans.
Meanwhile, Scott Hanson of The Seattle Times writes about Washington State receiver and Southern California native Jamire Calvin, noting that he “built a little hatred” for the Trojans after USC didn’t offer him a scholarship.
The big game Saturday takes place in Eugene with No. 20 Oregon welcoming No. 7 Stanford to Autzen (5 p.m. PT, ABC). Tom FitzGerald notes that Bryce Love and Justin Herbert give this year’s Stanford-Oregon a game a “Heisman slant.”
Playing off John Canzano’s article from earlier in the week, Douglas Perry of The Oregonian/OregonLive gives Oregon fans nine reasons why they really should hate Stanford.
The Saturday action begins in Corvallis with Oregon State hosting Arizona in a battle of 1-2 teams looking to get to 1-0 in Pac-12 play (1 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Networks). Check out John Canzano’s interview with Oregon State football coach Jonathan Smith to get coach’s thoughts on the loss to Nevada, going up against Khalil Tate and more.
Taking a “deep dive” into some Arizona football numbers, Michael Lev points out that the Wildcats need to generate more of a pass rush if the team wants to improve its 109th-best third-down defense in the country (by opponent’s conversion percentage).
Our Saturday nightcap takes us up to Montlake for Arizona State-Washington (7:30 p.m. PT, ESPN), and Adam Jude details Washington’s recent struggles against the Sun Devils. While Washington is more of a power right now and has been the last couple of years, the Huskies have still lost 11 of the last 12 meetings to Arizona State (Chris Petersen is 1-3 against the Sun Devils).
Here’s your Arizona State-Washington scouting report from Jeff Metcalfe of The Arizona Republic. Can the Sun Devils make it two years in a row with an upset win over the Dawgs? Metcalfe doesn’t think so, predicting a 28-21 Husky win.
Cal linebacker Cameron Goode is out for the 2018 season with what The Daily Californian is calling a lower body injury. Goode had a pick-six in the season-opening over North Carolina.
Trent Wood of the Deseret News writes that Utah running back Zack Moss will get more carries if he can get healthy. Moss has been hobbled by an ankle injury this season, but that hasn’t stopped him from putting up three solid performances this season.
Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press features Colorado linebacker Nate Landman. The sophomore stud has gotten off to a fantastic start this year, already posting 34 tackles and a sack and earning Pac-12 and National Defensive Player of the Week honors along the way.
The Bruins might be 0-3 this year, but UCLA football coach Chip Kelly says it’s still about winning games now and not about prepping the squad for future seasons.